The Holidays

I. Rationale for the Placement of Holidays:

As we have seen in our column on the Coligny Calendar, Garrett Olmsted translates the word IVOS as “festival”, and finds five major and two minor clusters throughout the year. If the calendar starts at Samhain, or close to it, as we have hypothesized, then we can very roughly place these clusters on the Gregorian Calendar as well. We find that they coincide very roughly with the traditional dates for Samhain, the Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasadh. From this, we can very tentatively reconstruct a Gaulish ritual year. The meaning of the holidays must be reconstructed from the holidays of the living Celtic peoples, as well as related holidays among other Indo-European cultures, and the traditions of the descendants of the Gauls, who often preserve some very old practices.

II. Trinouxs Samoni:

A. Description: Trinoux Samoni (the Three Nights of Samonios) marks the beginning of the year, as well as the transition from the light half of the year to the dark half, and from autumn to winter. In consequence, it is a festival of great significance. According to Alexei Kondratiev, the themes of this time include renewal, often via a new fire ritual, hospitality for the dead, dissolution, timelessness, and sacrifice. I tend to see it as a time for making offerings to the ancestors, doing divination, and possibly celebrating the death of Maponus in the Sacred Boar Hunt.
B. Appropriate Deities and Spirits: Sucellus, Nantosueltâ, the Ancestors, Cernunnos, and Maponus.
C. Gaulish Date: The first through about the fifth of the dark half of Samonios, or else the second or third of the light half.
D. Gregorian Date: The new moon nearest November 1, or the night after the full moon nearest November 1.

III. Îwos Dumanni:

A. Description: Îwos Dumanni (The Festival of Dummanios, probably the Festival of the Darkest Depths) marks the longest night of the year. This is the darkest and coldest time of the year, when the Eponâ wanders the land, accompanied by a retinue of spirits. The activities of this time of year often include guising and wassailing, in both the modern Celtic countries, and in formerly Gaulish-speaking regions. The midwinter customs in the Alpine countries of Europe, processions of men in grotesque costumes, often horned, suggest that spirits like the Anderoi and Dusioi are also active at this time, as is Cernunnos. In addition, Alexei Kondratiev sees this as the time when Maponus is born as the Child of Promise, only to be taken away shortly after birth. His birth may be celebrated in the manner of Christmas, but probably Eponâ, who may be his mother, is more appropriate to emphasize.
B. Appropriate Deities and Spirits: Eponâ, Cernunnos, Maponus, the Anderoi (to be propitiated, not worshiped), the Dusioi (ditto).
C. Gaulish Date: Around the first day of Dumannios, or else just before the beginning of the light half of Dumannios. The latter, which locates the festival to the Winter Solstice most years, is probably to be preferred, but the calendar varies.
D. Gregorian Date: The new moon nearest December 1, or else the full moon nearest the Winter Solstice.

IV. Îwos Brigantiâs:

A. Description: Îwos Brigantiâs just means “The Festival of Brigantiâ”, and that is exactly what it is. It is the time when she is worshipped and celebrated. We have no evidence as to whether the Gauls used such things as the Irish Brideog, an image of the young Brigid, or as Brigid’s Wheels or Brigid’s Cross for this festival, but they wouldn’t be altogether inappropriate. Probably more appropriate is to just make offering to Brigantiâ in our own ways. This festival is also linked with concepts of purification and may, or may not, be linked with the secular festival of Groundhog Day. Apparently, throughout continental Europe, a bear or badger was believed to come from its den on this day, and to forecast the coming of spring.
B. Appropriate Deities and Spirits: Brigantiâ.
C. Gaulish Date: At the beginning of Anagantios.
D. Gregorian Date: The new moon nearest February 1.

V. Îwos Giamoni:

A. Description: Îwos Giamoni (the Festival of Giamonios, probably, the Festival of Winter’s End) is the beginning of the light half of the year, and the transition from spring to summer. According to Kondratiev, the themes of this time of year include the transforming and purifying fire, as well as the return of Maponos. The Brothers Rees emphasize the themes of dissolution and trickery. According to the folklore of several regions of Europe, the rules of society and sexuality are to some extent suspended. My own celebrations of the festival emphasize the return of Maponus, the fire, and the worship of the land spirits.
B. Appropriate Deities and Spirits: Maponus, The Talamonodonicâ.
C. Gaulish Date: At the beginning of Giamonios.
D. Gregorian Date: The new moon nearest May 1.

VI. Îwos Lugous:

A. Description: Îwos Lugous just means the Festival of Lugus, and that is what it is. It is the festival when the victory of Lugus over the forces of darkness is celebrated, marking the beginning of the harvest season. Kondratiev sees the holiday in terms of several themes: the assembly on a height, the pageant of the triumph of Lugus, the reaping of the first fruits, the racing of horses in water, men and women paired in fertility magic, the burial of flowers to mark the end of summer, and the reaffirmation of the tribe’s order. Generally, my own celebrations just include offerings to Lugus and poems praising him, which appear to be enough to please the Gods.
B. Appropriate Deities and Spirits: Lugus, Rosmertâ.
C. Gaulish Date: The beginning of Elembiuos
D. Gregorian Date: The new moon nearest August 1.

For another different take on a Gaulish ritual calendar, see Jess’ column on the subject on the blog Nemeton Nigromanticos.
For another, based on actual Romano-Gaulish traditions, see the calendar at the excellent blog Deo Mercurio.

Year 24 Oracle of Aset

Rev. Tamara L. Siuda in Kemet Today

I am Aset the Great, Mother of God, Great of Heka. I am Aset the Widow, She Who Mourns, She of the Throne. I hear your prayers. I hear the prayers of the people. I tend to your needs. The year is new. The year is old. The year has come to be as one. To stand up together as one. To speak out. To be heard. To be who you are and what you have become. The time is now. The year is now.

Do not hesitate. Be bold. Walk the path of your own choosing. This is the year of My Son, My Uncle, My Brother, My Father. This is the year of divine power (literally, “of Netjer”). Do not look away. I place My Son Who Avenges His Father upon His throne, for the First Time, for every time, for all time. I place My Son Who Speaks for the Two Lands on Her throne, to fulfill Her promise and bring your renewal. The royal promise is re-established. In its renewal you go forth shining in peace. King and Great King, together, shine in glory and protect you.

Gates and mountains are among you. They surround you. They embrace you. One opens the gate, and the other leads you through it. One royal son leaves, and two appear. There is lightness in darkness and darkness in lightness. There is no difference. There is light in the dawn, but it cannot come before twilight and the battle that follows. There is comfort after loss, depth after scarcity. There is love. There is always love.

Do you not understand how much you are loved? Creation was born of love. Creation is the love of the creators for the created. This love is in your being. This love will never leave you. This love must be protected at all costs. This love is the best of you. This love is your birthright and your promise. See to it that love continues. It is left to you to tend this work. We cannot do it for you alone. You too must serve.

It is not done. It is not lost. It is not gone. Look to the horizon. It has merely been forgotten in some places and left behind by others. Do not despair. Love is what we offer you and love is what you need. There is love in the light of the dawn and in the firing of every star. There is love in the sky and the sea and the tomb. There is love everlasting. Seek it with both hands open to receive. It is your gift in this year of light, this year of delight.

It is time for love.

Do not hold your hands tightly against your hearts. Do not use your hands to guard yourselves. Move your hand away and accept those around you. Accept them, accept their pain, and they will accept yours. Open yourselves, open your hearts, and accept the help that others will give. None of you are alone.

Turning your back when others come to help will close your hearts. Being silent closes them. When the back is turned, do not be surprised when others speak. Do not be surprised when doors close, and do not be surprised at the damage this can cause. Do not be surprised at the effort to re-open them.

You are cleansed in the waters. Now, you must stay clean. Take what you need of Our waters, cleanse yourselves, cleanse the creation. Your purity is the purity of the great Name of Creation. You are the children of light and delight, of the Guardian Princes. As children they come to bring you joy and remind you of the innocence you think you have lost, but have only forgotten to remember. Do not forget.

A Polytheist Artist Proposition

The Dionysian Artist in The Dionysian Artist

We live in a world saturated in art. Our contemporary master pieces are found on billboards and seen on television as advertising. This current culture’s greatest musicians are carefully crafted by an executive board of mega power-mongers competing with other mega power-mongers. Even the most profound of art forms – the theatre – is manipulated and evaluated by non-artistic producers to determine their risk of investment.

If our peoples go down in history, we will be known for crap art on a mass scale. It’s value based on prescribed assumptions of what will make money.
Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so, I’m cynical of it on a personal level, but all art is an evocation of epiphany, it’s bringing an idea: inspiration, concept into reality. In art’s role of money maker, one cannot dismiss that it works.
Art justifies the human’s claim to being apart from animals. It is the proof of our right to be the dominant species. It’s an universal communicator that transcends all boarders of reality, language, culture and location. If there is anything that should be held in reverence, it is in all forms of art.

So that’s why I don’t think it’s ‘bad’ that our culture is saturated in tasteless art. Sometimes though… I find it worrying. Apart from art just being, it requires an audience. This trend of flooding the world with bad art is lowering the standards of the audience.

I find the jadedness in myself as I wander through the internet. Social networking websites presents art in such an artificial and dismissive manner, so much so, when I see something truly amazing I appreciate it with only a glance and maybe a ‘like’ or a ‘share’. This jaded overexposure continues offline into a physical art gallery. It is especially noted when observing others in this environment who, with echoing voices ring, “same old” or “how boring” as they observe paintings by some of the greatest masters in history. The worry I feel is that this over exposure is leading to the nihilism prophesised by Nietzsche. If we’re not careful, the audience with such non-standards will be incapable of appreciating art for what it is.

Then you see the hatred of art in society itself. It’s fitting writing about this now as we see examples with the spread of extremists morons in the Middle-East who seek to destroy all forms of art from burning drum kits to demolishing some of the greatest artefacts / structures in world history. We can’t just blame those extremist barbarians in the middle-east however. The West is at fault too with its over censorship, intolerance and itself destroying artwork in the name of religion and politics. Since Abraham smashing idol statues to the modern art movement of the twentieth century there has been a war against art. On both sides there have been gains and losses. Sadly, given my knowledge of history I see the West following suit, yet, again.

If by over exposure, religious doctrines or cultural norms we have to admit we have lost our ability to hear the choir of the Muses. Yet under Muses reign their devoted polytheist followers produced the greatest art ever known. The art of polytheists have had an influence on all we know. From basic composition to our concept of aesthetics, standards of writing to the play house – we can even go as far as claiming the development of politics, philosophy and mathematics.
To provide an example here is a simplification of fifteenth century art history: We have a culture that is exposed to the Greek writings from the Islamic Golden Age. This rekindled the lost heritage within the Italian elite who went on to further study the Greeks and developed a new kind of appreciation for the art. These nobles then commissioned digs and contemporary artists to create a new era of art that we name the Renaissance.

I don’t want to dismiss the hard work of those peoples, but it was their reintroduction to the classical polytheist cultures that initiated nations out of the Medieval Dark Ages. The liberating influences of the ancients lead to the further developments climaxing during the industrial revolution. In regards to art we have the study of natural science, such as anatomy led to better medical practice. Alchemy, via the study of chemicals to make pigments, became the secularised study we call chemistry. Introduction and experimentation of artists aided in the development of common metal alloys too. Through the reintroduction of perspective from the Roman’s, artists became architects and learnt to build grander, stronger structures. Along with philosophy and the theatre we have the development of political theory and eventual reestablishment of democracy and just think, individuals like Shakespeare would be nothing without the works of Homer, fragments of Greek plays and of Roman greats like Ovid.

So you see when Oscar Wilde says in wit, mimicking works by Kant and Plato: “All art is quite useless” I will fervently argue against it. Yet, I also seek a balance of Wilde’s statement through making art as devotion. The balance is dependent on the point of view of the creator / spectator, if one is secular then it could be perceived as useless but if one has faith in the divine it is the most beautiful work one can strive for.

This is the difference, faith, and this is something that our polytheist predecessors had, belief in the gods and what did they do? The ancients and their knowledge of art have made us what we are today. All their art was devotional, their entire lives were dedicated to their gods and in the process of creating art for the gods they achieved the greatest pinnacle of art. A pinnacle that we have been disparately trying to emulate but never reaching fulfilment because our culture is not polytheistic.

It’s not a matter of money, monotheism, politics. It’s faith in the gods while creating art in their honour.

If we look at all kinds of movements, be it political, cultural or religious we see that that there is an art movement in itself that coexistent and justifies the existence of that said movement. That is something I want to attempt to ignite throughout the polytheist community. One being the reestablishment of the Dionysian Artists. The other commitment is encouraging others to produce devotional art and / or establish their own artistic communities within the polytheist sphere.

So what is an art movement? I’m going to quote Wikipedia here are its succinct and correct:

“An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years.”

There is a lot of debate as to what was the first art movement but of my own opinion the first was the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Millais. I believe they are the first art movement as they, the artists, were the first to have a set of doctrines which dictated the art as being considered Pre-Raphaelite, these are:

to have genuine ideas to express
to study nature attentively, so as to know how to express them
to sympathise with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, to the exclusion of what is conventional and self-parodying and learned by rote
most indispensable of all, to produce thoroughly good pictures and statues

These doctrines are very liberal but allow members some guidance in what to strive for in making art. As a result of their formal brotherhood we not only witness a drastic change in art of the mid-late 1800’s but also see their effect on other areas of art including writing, poetry, common home decor, architecture and fashion. Through their art they created a miniature cultural revolution within the Victorian climate with influences on other forms of art and associated movements that continued well into the twentieth century.

We have these examples of success already in front of us. There have been groups with lesser goals than the polytheist community that have altered the cultural climate. From ancient examples I’ve provided in previous posts to my mention of the middle ages to more modern times. Movements that have lesser motivations, each all different, but none that have the gods on their side in their creation. Compared to these groups there is a lot of people online that call themselves polytheist, why is it that we are not pressing forward into the grand overarching culture of the west to reassert ourselves once again? To me the simplest way to do this is through art. Be it painting or sculpture, writing, poetry, philosophy or performance. Not these navel gazing, petty, self-generating squabbles between ourselves.

Maybe, just maybe, if we can work together to produce good art for our gods we can break the jadedness of mainstream culture… let’s conflagrate the passions of the Muses once more. Let’s do something constructive for our gods!

Markos Gage Δ

A Working Coligny Calendar for the Year 3034 BG / 2015-2016 CE

Segomâros Widugeni in Nemeton Segomâros


CE Year	Gregorian Month	Date	BG Year	Coligny Month	Half	Date	Omens
2015	November	12	3034	Samonios	Cemenolugrâ	1	IVOS
		13				2	MD IVOS
		14				3	AMB IVOS
		15				4	MD
		16				5	AMB
		17				6	MD
		18				7
		19				8
		20				9	MD
		21				10	MD
		22				11	AMB
		23				12	MD
		24				13	MD
		25				14	MD
		26				15	MD
		27			Senolugrâ	1
		28				2	MD Tri Sam
		29				3	AMB
		30				4	MD
	December	1				5	AMB
		2				6	MD
		3				7	AMB
		4				8
		5				9
		6				10	MD
		7				11	AMB IVOS
		8				12	MD IVOS
		9				13	AMB IVOS
		10				14	MD IVOS
		11				15	AMB IVOS
		12		Dumannios	Cemenolugrâ	1	IVOS
		13				2	IVOS
		14				3	IVOS
		15				4	IVOS
		16				5
		17				6
		18				7
		19				8
		20				9
		21				10
		22				11
		23				12
		24				13
		25				14
		26				15
		27			Senolugrâ	1	MD
		28				2	MD
		29				3	AMB
		30				4
		31				5	AMB
2016	January	1				6	MD
		2				7	AMB
		3				8
		4				9
		5				10
		6				11	AMB
		7				12
		8				13	AMB
		9				14
		10		Riuros	Cemenolugrâ	1
		11				2
		12				3	MD
		13				4	MD
		14				5
		15				6	MD
		16				7	MD
		17				8
		18				9
		19				10	MD
		20				11
		21				12	MD
		22				13	MD IVOS
		23				14	MD IVOS
		24				15	MD IVOS
		25			Senolugrâ	1	MD IVOS
		26				2	MD IVOS
		27				3	IVOS
		28				4	MD IVOS
		29				5	AMB IVOS
		30				6	MD
		31				7	AMB
	February	1				8
		2				9	AMB
		3				10
		4				11	AMB
		5				12	MD
		6				13	AMB
		7				14	MD
		8				15	AMB
		9		Anagantios	Cemenolugrâ	1	MD IVOS
		10				2	IVOS
		11				3	IVOS
		12				4
		13				5
		14				6
		15				7
		16				8
		17				9
		18				10
		19				11	AMB
		20				12
		21				13
		22				14
		23				15
		24			Senolugrâ	1
		25				2
		26				3	AMB
		27				4
		28				5	AMB
		29				6
	March	1				7
		2				8	MD
		3				9	AMB
		4				10
		5				11	AMB
		6				12
		7				13	AMB
		8				14
		9		Ogronios	Cemenolugrâ	1	MD
		10				2	MD
		11				3
		12				4	MD
		13				5
		14				6	MD
		15				7	MD
		16				8	MD
		17				9	MD
		18				10	MD
		19				11
		20				12	MD
		21				13	MD
		22				14	MD
		23				15	MD
		24			Senolugrâ	1	MD
		25				2	MD
		26				3	AMB
		27				4	MD
		28				5	AMB
		29				6	MD
		30				7	AMB
		31				8	MD
	April	1				9	AMB
		2				10	MD
		3				11	AMB
		4				12
		5				13	AMB
		6				14	MD
		7				15	AMB
		8		Cutios	Cemonolugrâ	1	MD
		9				2	MD
		10				3	MD
		11				4
		12				5
		13				6	MD
		14				7	MD
		15				8	MD
		16				9
		17				10	MD
		18				11	AMB
		19				12
		20				13	MD
		21				14	MD
		22				15	MD
		23			Senolugrâ	1	MD
		24				2	MD
		25				3	AMB
		26				4
		27				5	AMB
		28				6
		29				7	AMB
		30				8	MD
	May	1				9	AMB
		2				10	MD
		3				11	AMB
		4				12	MD
		5				13	AMB IVOS
		6				14	MD IVOS
		7				15	AMB IVOS
		8		Giamonios	Cemenolugrâ	1
		9				2	IVOS
		10				3	IVOS
		11				4
		12				5	AMB
		13				6
		14				7
		15				8
		16				9
		17				10
		18				11	AMB
		19				12
		20				13
		21				14
		22				15
		23			Senolugrâ	1
		24				2
		25				3	AMB
		26				4
		27				5	AMB
		28				6
		29				7
		30				8
		31				9	AMB
	June	1				10
		2				11
		3				12
		4				13	AMB
		5				14
		6		Simiuisonnios	Cemenolugrâ	1
		7				2
		8				3
		9				4	MD
		10				5
		11				6
		12				7	MD
		13				8	MD
		14				9	MD
		15				10	MD
		16				11	AMB
		17				12	MD
		18				13
		19				14
		20				15
		21			Senolugrâ	1
		22				2
		23				3	AMB
		24				4	MD
		25				5	AMB
		26				6
		27				7	AMB
		28				8	MD
		29				9	AMB
		30				10	MD
	July	1				11	AMB
		2				12	MD
		3				13	AMB
		4				14
		5				15
		6			Cemenolugrâ	1
		7				2
		8				3
		9				4
		10				5	AMB
		11				6
		12				7
		13				8
		14				9
		15				10
		16				11	AMB
		17				12
		18				13	MD
		19				14	MD
		20				15
		21			Senolugrâ	1	MD
		22				2	MD
		23				3	AMB
		24				4
		25				5	AMB
		26				6
		27				7	AMB
		28				8
		29				9	AMB
		30				10
		31				11	AMB
	August	1				12
		2				13	AMB
		3				14
		4				15	AMB
		5		Elembiuos	Cemenolugrâ	1	IVOS
		6				2	IVOS
		7				3	IVOS
		8				4	IVOS
		9				5	AMB
		10				6
		11				7
		12				8
		13				9
		14				10
		15				11	AMB
		16				12
		17				13
		18				14
		19				15
		20			Senolugrâ	1
		21				2	MD
		22				3	AMB
		23				4
		24				5	AMB
		25				6
		26				7	AMB
		27				8
		28				9	AMB
		29				10
		30				11	AMB
		31				12
	September	1				13	AMB
		2				14
		3		Edrinios	Cemenolugrâ	1	IVOS
		4				2	MD IVOS
		5				3	MD IVOS
		6				4	MD
		7				5
		8				6
		9				7	MD
		10				8	MD
		11				9	MD
		12				10	MD
		13				11	AMB
		14				12	MD
		15				13	MD
		16				14	MD
		17				15	MD
		18			Senolugrâ	1
		19				2
		20				3	AMB
		21				4
		22				5	AMB
		23				6
		24				7	AMB
		25				8	MD
		26				9	AMB
		27				10	MD IVOS
		28				11	AMB
		29				12	MD
		30				13	AMB
	October	1				14	MD
		2				15	AMB
		3		Cantlos	Cemenolugrâ	1	MD
		4				2
		5				3
		6				4
		7				5	AMB
		8				6
		9				7
		10				8
		11				9
		12				10
		13				11	AMB
		14				12
		15				13
		16				14
		17				15
		18			Senolugrâ	1
		19				2
		20				3
		21				4
		22				5	AMB
		23				6
		24				7	AMB
		25				8
		26				9
		27				10
		28				11	AMB
		29				12
		30				13	AMB IVOS
		31				14	IVOS

Breaking Loki’s Bonds

Dagulf Loptson in Ørgrandr Lokean

The following is intended to be a consecutive 9-day practice, ideally performed at night. In the Northern mysteries, nine is the number associated with initiation, death and rebirth. Each day begins with an invocation to one of the heiti (sacred names) of Loki, followed by a seated meditation, followed by a magical action to externalize what was experienced in the meditation. The goal of this practice is to identify a part or parts of yourself that have been hidden, scapegoated, or rejected, much like Loki himself was bound and outcast by the gods in Lokasenna and Gylfaginning. This may be an unsavory part of your past, a rejected aspect of your personality (whether good or bad), or a suppressed talent. True power stems from the acceptance and integration of yourself in all of your parts. To cut off and throw away parts of yourself that you see as taboo or undesirable is to cut yourself off from a potential source of your own power. This exercise is intended to help you identify and reintegrate with these parts of yourself, so that they can be transformed and used towards your personal empowerment.

What you will need:

1 medium-large candle to represent Loki’s presence. Colors associated with
Loki are orange, red, yellow, black, and green.
3 small white candles which are large enough to carve runes into
1 knife or dagger sharp enough to cut through a ribbon.
1 black marker
1 red ribbon that is thick enough to write on and long enough to cut into three equal pieces
1 horn, chalice, or drinking vessel of your choice
1 pin or other etcher to carve candles with
1 unopened bottle of mead, wine, or other drink of your choice
Lancets, or something else to draw a small amount of blood
A small iron cauldron or fire-safe vessel in which you can burn the ribbon
On day 7 you have the option of using a dremel

Day 1

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail to Inn Bundi Áss (in-boondy-ows), bound god beneath the earth. I call to you, who speaks the hard truths so that we may be released from the shackles of our own making. I come to you in humility to learn the mysteries of self.

Every day after you speak the invocation, carry the lit candle around the circumference of the place in which you will be working in order to hallow the ritual space. Fire was often the vehicle of exorcism in Old Norse culture.

Meditation:

You look around, and find yourself on a grey, rocky outcrop beside the ocean. There is a chill in the air as the waves crash violently against the rocks, misting you with cold, briny water. The sun is nowhere to be found in the sky, and all you see when you look up is a thick layer of stormy grey clouds. A powerful gust of wind hits you, pulling violently at your hair and clothes. You know you have to find shelter soon. You look at the colorless scenery around you, and see what looks like the dark opening of a cave not far in the distance, facing the sea. You scrabble over the stony ground, tripping from time to time as your foot catches on a jagged stone, or the violent wind threatens to topple you. Finally, you make it into the opening in the rock face, and see that it leads into a dark, downward sloping tunnel. You hold your breath and cautiously begin to make your way deeper and deeper into the passage.

Though you have relief from the wind and the cold, a new kind of shiver makes its way down your spine as you hear the deep, distant echo of a scream from farther ahead. Suddenly, the ground begins to tremble violently, and you nearly lose your footing. But as almost as soon as the earthquake starts, it is over. Though you fear what lies ahead, you continue downward. Suddenly, the tunnel opens up into a large, dark cave. As you enter, you are met by a gust of horribly pungent air. The air stinks of acid, mingled with the smell of burning flesh and old blood, and you have to swallow to keep form choking. However, the smell is nothing compared to the sight that meets your eyes as you walk towards the center of the cave.

There is a man, naked and awkwardly stretched over three large, jagged stones. He is held in place by a strange, blood colored rope, wound tightly three times around his shoulders, his pelvis, and his knees. His long orange-blonde hair is streaked with blood, and he looks drawn and pale. From a distance, you can see that red blisters have bloomed on a face you are sure at one time was very handsome. His body trembles pitifully either from cold or pain. Standing over this man is an equally sad looking woman. She is holding a large, wooden bowl over the man’s face, into which a toxic-looking liquid is slowly dripping. Rags of clothing hang from her skinny arms and there are pale grey streaks in her strawberry hair. At first you think she’s an old woman, but as you draw closer you look into her face, fixed in concentration, and realize with a shock that she is actually a young woman, despite the hollows in her cheeks. Your eyes follow the green, dripping liquid upward, and you see an enormous black serpent coiled within the dead, dried roots that protrude through the stony ceiling. Venom trickles from its enormous fangs into the bowl below.

The man on the stones catches sight of you, and the red, welted skin around his eyes makes their green color violently bright. He signals you to come towards him with a jerk of his head, and though you feel both pity and revulsion, you come closer. As you do, the man speaks in a voice that sounds parched and exhausted:

“This is where the gods bound me, after I mocked I mocked them at Ægir’s feast. They didn’t like that I shone a light into the darkness of their hypocrisy, their pride, and their illusions of control. They thought they could cast off their flaws if they cast me out of Ásgarðr as their scapegoat, but they only make themselves weaker by trying to tame my flames. They keep me bound here, just as you keep the light of your own truth bound. You bind your inner fire, the might of your own divine Self, with fetters of your own making. You hide away those parts of yourself that you want no one to see; you lie to yourself and pretend to be something you’re not. But you will never be truly empowered until you accept yourself in all of your parts. Then the full might of your will can burn and transform the world around you. Will you release me from these fetters? Sacrifice the self you knew on the cremation pyre, so that something greater may arise?”

Magical Action:

Today, simply meditate on whether or not you are prepared to allow the god of change into your life to aid you in its transformation. Many people wish for change, and then curse the change and the one who brought it when it arrives out of fear. Are you ready to claim responsibility for yourself and the fruit of your own actions? Are you ready to see yourself as you truly are?

Day 2

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail to Vé (vay) holy exorcist and illuminator of truth. Shine light into my dark places, so I can see that which I hide from others, but most importantly myself.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

You find yourself again within the darkness of the cave, beside the bound figure and his frail wife. She holds the wooden bowl over his head, her arms trembling but never falling. The venom hisses and smokes with every drop into the bowl. As you watch her, she motions to you to come closer. She seems pitifully frail and small next to you, but you can sense a deep, inner strength below her fragile surface: a fire that is shining dimly through the darkness.

“Look into the mirror and tell me what you see.”

She lowers the bowl slightly, so you can see your reflecting looking back at you in its venomous contents.

“Who do you have bound here?”

As she asks this question, you can see your reflection swirling and distorting in the green surface of the venom, until the face looking back at you reveals a part of yourself that you try to hide from the world and have banished into the darkness of your own subconscious. Is this person strong or weak? Kind or cruel? Brave or afraid? Whether good or bad, this is a part of yourself you want no one to see, or a part of yourself you have scapegoated and blamed for all of the ills in your life.

Magical Action:

Take the bottle of mead, wine, or other drink, and use the marker to write a name for your shadow-self or trait on the side of the bottle in runic script. Use a lancet to draw some blood, and put a dab on each of the runes, chanting the name of each rune as you do so to awaken the staves. Set the bottle aside and leave it unopened.

Day 3

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail Læva Lundr (lie-vuh-loon-der), cunning spider that crouches in the tree of deceits. Allow me to see those places where I have been snared or have snared myself in the web of fate.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

You find yourself back in the cave. Sigyn lifts the bowl up towards the serpent. You turn your eyes to the red fetters that are holding Loki’s naked figure bound, and as you look more closely you can see that they aren’t ropes, but bloody sinews. Loki speaks to you again:

“These are the guts of my son Narvi. They are the only thing that keeps me from freedom: the final remnants of Sigyn’s child. The gods transformed his brother Váli into a wolf, and we watched him rip his brother to pieces before the cruel gods used his entrails to bind me to these rocks. It is my guilt that keeps me bound here, that I couldn’t save any of my children from the Æsir’s wrath. But what are the fetters that keep your spirit bound? What is holding your hidden self in place?”

As you look closer at the entrails, you are surprised to see that Loki no longer looks like himself, but has transformed into the naked image of the shadow self you saw in Sigyn’s bowl. The fetters have transformed as well, and instead of fetters, you see them transform into a symbol of what is holding down this part of yourself. Sigyn speaks to you. She speaks the name of the thing that is imprisoning you, whether this is a person, an emotion, a belief, or something else.

Magical Action:

Choose a word or name that describes the fetter that is binding you. Using the runes of the Elder Futhark, write this word/name onto the ribbon with your marker. Use the lancet to draw some blood, and empower each rune by dabbing it with some of your blood and chanting its name. Set the ribbon aside to use on a later day.

Day 4

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail Ver Sigynjar (vehr-sig-in-yar), husband of Sigyn, friend to victory. Show me where my support stems from. Who is holding the bowl for me?

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

Back in the cave, you see that Loki and his bindings are back to how they were when you first encountered them. You look into one of the cave’s dark corners, where you see a large, long metal box. Along the edges of the box, you see nine locks that hold the lid shut. Without turning his head, Loki follows your gaze to the box with his eyes. He speaks to you again:

“To break these bonds, you will need a suitable weapon. That is the box that holds my sword Lævatein, which I forged in Niflhel and will brandish at Ragnarök. Surtr’s wife Sinmara guards it for me, and keeps it in a box with nine locks. To reveal this weapon, you will have to discover the keys that open these locks. Search within yourself to find them.”

Who are your allies that will give you the strength of resolve to break these bonds? Are they a spirit, an ancestor, a god, or a person in your life? Are they a principle, a talent, or a virtue? What three things hold the key to your empowerment?

As you look towards the box, you suddenly feel a weight in your pocket. You reach inside your pocket, and pull out the first key. What does the key look like? What color, shape, and size is it? On the side of the key, you see a word engraved on the side. This word reveals the identity of your first ally. You walk to the box, and insert the key into the first three locks. One after the other, you hear the heavy “click” of the locks opening, and the sound echoes through the hollow chambers of the cave.

Magical Action:

Take one of the small white candles and use your etcher to carve the word you saw on the key into the candle in the runic script. Using your lancet, put a dab of blood onto these runes and chant their names to awaken them. When this is complete, light the candle in honor of your ally. If this is a god, spirit, or ancestor, ask them for their aid in your liberation. If this represents a living person, speak a prayer of blessing on their behalf. If it represents a personal talent, code of honor, or virtue, meditate on how you are (or are not) implementing it in your life. When you are done, extinguish the candle and save it for the next day.

Day 5

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail Lóðurr (low-thur) mighty creator who gives the children of Midgarðr their spark of life. Illuminate the allies who will help me release the fire within.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

Back in the cave, you place your hand in your pocket again and pull out the second key. Examine its appearance, and turn it over until you see a word engraved on its side. This word reveals the identity of your second ally. You turn to the box once again, and unlock the next three locks with this key, one after the other.

Magical Action:

Repeat the process from yesterday with the second ally/candle. When you have carved and blooded the candle, light todays and yesterdays candle during your meditation. Extinguish them both when you’re done meditating on their meaning and save them for tomorrow.

Day 6

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail In Slægi Áss (in-sly-ee-ows), most cunning of the gods in the nine worlds. Show me the identity of my final ally so that I may open the locks that hold the object of my freedom.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

You are back in the cave. For a third time, you examine your pocket and pull out the third and final key. Examine the last key, and find the engraving that reveals the identity of your third ally on its side. You use the key to unlock the three final locks on the box, and with some effort are finally able to pull open its heavy lid to reveal what lies inside. Within the box, you see a long, razor sharp sword. Serpents decorate its hilt, and the reflective metal of the blade burns with its own inner, blue fire.

Magical Action:

Perform the same action you did for the first two candles. When the third candle is carved and blooded, light all three candles during your meditation. As they burn, breathe deeply, and imagine the might of your three allies flowing from the candle flames into your body through your breath. Allow the three candles to burn themselves out.

Day 7

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail Loptr (lof-ter), mighty serpent of fire who treads the sky with thunder. Fill me with your heavenly knowledge and show me the source of my liberation.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

Back in the cave, you still find yourself gazing at the weapon that has been revealed. As you gaze into the reflective surface of the blade, the true identity of this sword is revealed to you. An image appears in its surface, which will show you what being, force, or course of action will allow you to break through the fetters that are binding your hidden self. Meditate on the image you have been shown for a moment, as it is of the utmost importance to use its wisdom not just during the course of this meditation, but in your mundane life as well.
From behind you, you hear Loki scream again as Sigyn runs to the side of the cave to empty her bowl of its venomous contents. As the acid drips onto his upturned face you smell smoke and burning flesh. The earth trembles beneath your feet as Loki struggles in his bonds against the poison. Sigyn quickly runs back to her husband and assumes her position above him. The earthquake abruptly ceases.

Magical Action:

Meditate on what you saw in the blade’s surface, and find a word to describe and name it. Write that name onto your ritual blade with the marker (alternately you can use a dremel to etch the runes in). Draw some blood and put a dab on each of the runes, chanting the rune’s name to awaken each one.

Day 8

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail Hveðrung (Kveh-thrung), roarer, mighty harbinger of Ragnarök who wields the wand of destruction. May I have the resolve to set fire to my stagnation so that a new self may arise from the ashes.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

You are back in the cave. You reach into the box and grip the sword by the hilt. You feel a current of power travel up your arm as you do so. With some difficulty, you pull the heavy sword out of the box and walk towards where Loki and Sigyn are waiting. You fix your eyes on the fetters, taking a moment to breath and remember the true name of the fetter you are actually destroying. You lift the sword over your head, and with a powerful swing the sword cuts cleanly through the fetter binding Loki’s shoulders with one meaty slice. Though the fetters seemed so powerful and strong on the outside, they were much more fragile than they first appeared. The illusion of their strength has been broken. You lift the sword a second time, slicing through the fetter binding Loki’s pelvis. The sword slices easily through this fetter as well, clanging on the rock lying beneath it. You lift the sword a third time, and slice through the last fetter binding Loki’s knees.

Magical Action:

Take the ribbon in your hand, and take a moment to focus on its true name and identity. Take your knife and slice through the ribbon in three places, symbolically releasing yourself from your old bondage. Set the pieces aside for tomorrow.

Day 9

Invocation:

Light your candle to represent Loki’s living presence, and speak this invocation:

Hail Gammleið (gam-layth), vulture’s path, lord of cremation. Burn away the refuse of my old bondage so that my hidden self may be released and I can be reborn anew.

Carry the lit candle around the circumference of your working space.

Meditation:

As the last fetter is cut and Loki is released from his prison, the darkness of the cave is suddenly filled with a bright, blinding light. Loki rises from the stones, no longer drawn, weak, and injured, but blazing with red and gold flames and radiating power. His green eyes shine like emeralds, and wild laughter escapes from his scarred lips. The serpent above him has retracted its fangs, no longer the trickster god’s oppressor. It drops down to meet him, wrapping itself around his shoulders: the symbol of his power restored. You suddenly feel the heat of his flames surrounding you, eating away at your flesh as if you were a corpse on a funeral byre. He burns away your falsities, your illusions, and your masks. His flames strip you bare until nothing but the true image of your whole Self is what remains.

You turn to Sigyn, and see that she too has been transformed. She has gone from the trembling waif holding the crude, wooden bowl to a woman blazing with power. She is dressed in a cloak of swan feathers, her strawberry hair framing a gentle but strong face. The bowl that once held her prisoner has been replaced with a golden chalice, and the venom within has been transformed into sweet, golden mead. The goddess of victory offers you the chalice: the hidden self that was once your poison has now become your medicine. She bids you to drink with these words:

“Mead I bring thee, tree of battle,
Mingled with strength and mighty fame;
Charms it holds and healing signs,
Spells full good, and gladness-runes”

You take the cup and drink deeply of the mead, burning a trail of bright fire down your throat and into your body. The hidden self whom you rejected has now been reintegrated into yourself: making you healed and whole. The trickster and his consort have helped you to release the shackles of self-deception, and have initiated you into the mysteries of self-knowledge. You turn towards the two deities, and ask them if they have any more words of advice for you before you leave the cave and return to the mundane world. Whatever wisdom they share is to serve you on your path alone.

As you begin to walk up and out of the cave, you see light streaming through its entrance. The dark clouds that once filled the sky are gone, and the sun is shining brightly upon the calm sea. Walk forward into the world transformed, with power and authenticity.

Magical Action:

Open the bottle of mead, wine, or whatever drink you have chosen. Pour the liquid into the horn or cup and chant the runes that make up the name you gave to your shadow-self into the liquid. Next, take the three pieces of ribbon and put them in the cauldron or another fire-safe vessel. Set fire to the ribbon pieces using the flame from Loki’s candle. Hold the horn or chalice over the flame of Loki’s candle and imagine that the liquid is filled with the cleansing flames, transforming what was once the poisonous nature of your shadow self into an elixir of healing and empowerment. Take a deep breath, hold it, and then drink the liquid down in one draught. Make an oath to yourself that rather than rejecting whole parts of yourself, you will transmute them and integrate them back into your sphere of power. The venom of the serpent is the same medicine that can cure its bite.

FOUNDATIONAL POLYTHEISM:

The Thracian in Featured Voices

A primary focus in the material that I teach is on considerations of establishing a firm foundation for polytheistic frameworks of discussion, practice, cult-building, worship, spirit-work, and inter-faith engagements. This is the guiding philosophy behind writings on discernment, distinctions, differentiations, definitions – “The Ds” – and on hashing out elementary ideas for “101” primers, and on building living tradition beyond the blog. It is why so much of my writing and talking circles back to the ground-level discussions, on returning to the central concepts and requisite paradigms, as well as comparative discourse on what falls outside of the realms of polytheistic consideration (or theisms of any kind, such as atheist secular thought or other-than-theistic philosophies or reductive non-theisms). All of this is around the common goal (shared amongst many of my colleagues and co-religionists) of establishing a usable and solid ground for engaging collectively in the pursuits of polytheistic religious discourse, theology, practice, and development into a 21st century that would otherwise see these ways and traditions further erased, subjugated, or subordinated beneath other (more popular and immediate) concepts. To survive in any real way, our polytheisms (and the ways in which we talk about them, identify ourselves within them, or approach them as newcomers) need certain elementary – remedial – steps.

In my 2015 article “A Polytheist Primer¹”, published by The Wild Hunt, I set out to write a basic introduction to some of the major developments in the increasingly visible discussions coming out of many circles of polytheism, for the purposes of presenting the topic to those who were unfamiliar with the discussions taking place, or else were unaware that polytheisms could (and do) exist independent of other major movements (such as Neo-Paganism). This was written primarily for those new to “the conversation” so that it could be referenced back to, rather than rehashing the same (exhausted, exhausting) answers with each new voice of challenge and/or “inquisitive erasure.” (There are many such voices. Remember, kids: don’t read the comments. Anywhere. Ever.) To this end, while met with high praise and warm welcome for the most part, my primer fell short in one area, by way of omission. In my efforts to properly define and distinguish between identity level Polytheists², polytheistic religious traditions³, and the Polytheist Movement⁴, I neglected to address a fourth (and in some respects “larger”, if also more general) topic that is getting regularly talked around, yelled about, or spoken down at: the foundations of polytheism.

Recent years have seen some very important developments in tradition-specific discussions, and the developments of newly received or emerging regional cults, priesthoods, and mystery lineages. These represent one important sector of polytheistic focus. However, in a very large chunk of the discussions in online sectors of the English-language Polytheist discourse, which includes many of the efforts of the Polytheist Movement, dialog is not focused on tradition-specific details and platforms (such as the Thiasos of the Starry Bull⁵, or a particular hypothetical Northern Tradition devotional cult in Vermont⁶) but rather about the intrinsic and basic characteristics of polytheism itself, which is to say, Foundational Polytheism⁷.

This is a concept that I have been using (primarily out-loud in lectures and private teaching or consults with colleagues) for years to describe some of the necessary elemental and requisite considerations within the sphere of religious study, practice, and identity categorized as “polytheistic”. It is not a religion unto itself.

Foundational Polytheism is a collective starting point, a methodology of approach and procedure, for religious engagement and “entrance” into polytheism, in practice or identity, addressing particular distinct needs of polytheistic religions not adequately provided for elsewhere. It does not replace, or supplant, or override the internal structures of individual polytheistic religions, but rather, it provides a practical bedrock of foundation for those who might not yet have access to, or involvement with, or knowledge of, a given specific religious tradition.

Many people’s “in-road” toward polytheistic religion comes from contact or experience with certain deities – perhaps unsolicited and unsought, or perhaps merely unexpected even after years of engagement in a non-religious context such as magic – who they might not even know clearly the names of, or the cultures-and-traditions of origin. What is a person to do when they have heightened and profound religious and worshipful experiences with a god, but cannot even find their name, or perhaps have mis-identified them (it happens often) with similar but unrelated deities from another pantheon or tradition? How can one show up to right relationship with a god when they cannot even figure out who the god is, let alone what they want? Waiting until they’ve become an expert in a tradition that they cannot yet identify is unhelpful if that god is “at the door” already. What they need, right there and then — some guidance and tips or protocols or starter-practices — which can be used immediately, adapted right out of the gate; a methodology for the beginnings of laying a polytheistic foundation.

Not every person in this circumstance has access to credibly trained and professional diviners, spirit-workers, or clergy, (caution is advised that not all divination is created equal), and so can find themselves all-too-easily making wrong assumptions (informed perhaps by experiences with traditions or backgrounds outside or even contrary to the scope of polytheistic religion) leading to offense, transgression, or worse. It is important when seeking guidance to find somebody informed about the context and framework of the thing engaged; a monogamy-focused marriage counselor is probably not the proper fit for a polyamorous triad, because they’re not likely to be versed in the distinct needs, agreements, and configuration dynamics of a relationship structured in this way. Seeking religious counsel from a magician is unlikely to yield context-specific guidance, because the needs of a magician are different and distinct from that of a devotional religionist. (Most magical traditions the world over developed in conjunction with a religious structure: modern approaches to magic and witchcraft often avoid the importance of these, favoring “rugged individualism” and secular humanist disdain popularized by installments of Hell Blazer or Supernatural, where a protagonist will give the finger to the forces of the cosmos and slay gods, reducing, via fictional mediums, world-religion and spirit-tradition down to inconveniences that humankind must battle against for their independence.)

The purpose of Foundational Polytheism is to provide an accessible and basic (adaptive, elastic) polycentric matrix of concepts, approaches, paradigms, philosophies, and in general, advice for figuring it out without needing to reinvent the wheel. (For example: a devotionally offered votive candle is fundamentally different from a setting of lights candle-magic working practiced in Conjure. They are approached differently – for distinct reasons – and to synonymize them is to fail to recognize what either of them is. The ways and reasons that devotional offerings are approached as a topic of practices is rarely addressed in magically-derived traditions, and so this area represents a very real need that is distinct to religion, which many struggle with understanding.) Some folks might only need the support of some of these foundational structures in the beginning, before finding themselves in a tradition or course of study and practice which supplies the finer details and nuances needed; others may find themselves already in a tradition or practice which still doesn’t supply these nuances or answer their needs.

The most prolific voices on these topics are, largely, aware of the distinction between Foundational Polytheism and a specific polytheistic tradition (such as Gaulish Polytheism); but it is clear (and has been for a while) that the general readership might not always be able to recognize this.

One of the best examples I can think of is the reaction from certain sectors of Kemetic polytheism responding to Canaanite polytheist priest and author Tess Dawson’s article in 2013 ⁸ about devotional offerings and some basic, general, “dos/donts” when approaching polytheistic devotions and rituals as a newcomer without the benefit of a structured specific tradition to provide clear instruction.⁹ In this article the author provided a thorough Q&A response to the sort of questions that a number of us in the leadership sectors of various polytheistic traditions – Natib Qadish, in this author’s case – field every day,¹⁰ through email or social media or private phone calls. In the article, the priest advised a beginner-to-polytheism that in most cases, eating something given to the gods as a food-offering was an offense, whereas in at least some Kemetic contexts, eating the offerings is exactly what is expected and is part of the ritual technologies of the religion, as it is through this exchange that the worshippers receive blessings from their gods.

The answer was around how a newcomer to polytheism could begin to engage with deities, perhaps when they did not have an overarching tradition to provide such answers, when these deities were already showing up. The author’s answer was on-point and wonderful and thoughtful and courteous; to the seeker, to the gods, and to the traditions who might supply different answers. This was a foundational response, with the caveat that individual traditions (and specific deities) might have specific structures, agreements, or protocols; foundational answers don’t replace or overwrite or challenge those. The response from some corners of polytheism were volatile and aggressive toward the author, who was accused of all sorts of things which were not said in the article, which was not an article about Kemetic religion anyway. It became a bit of a controversy overnight. (Thanks, Tumblr.) The thing is: this didn’t need to be a controversy, because the author hadn’t said anything controversial, nor challenged any other cult teaching. There are some good solid foundational basics for how to handle and approach the idea of physical offerings to gods, and these are to be treated as “elementary” rather than “universal”; a “best guess starting point” until you learn otherwise (from the deities in question, from the tradition or lineage teachings, or so forth).

In other words, many of these foundational elements essential to polytheistic religious approach are about basic approaches to core values, like hospitality, respect, piety, and reciprocity. Values which, frankly, the dominant world cultures in the West have not really done a good job of teaching. (One does not, for example, give expired meat as an offering in general devotional religion: that is offensive.)

As Edward Butler, PhD, stated in a recent conversation about these matters, the basic cultural and consciousness point that many people today are starting at with regard to the topics of polytheistic religion and polycentric theology or world-view is needing some exposure to and familiarity with some fundamental shifts in understanding (of self, of cosmos, of creation) not supplied by the parent overculture or societal milieu, in order to more fully and comprehensively “get” and “live” polytheism. It is not enough to say “the gods are real” and pretend as though this – without unpacking or exploring it further – is sufficient to install paradigm-level nuance of sense-and-relation beyond that which is supplied by our culture’s (Monotheist, monist reductive, or secular-atheist) societal norms. In other parts of the world, and in other times of world history, this is not the case, because there are there-and-then presumed culture exposures to certain basic understandings, many of which are not necessarily religious in and of themselves but become critically essential to the theory, practice, and embodiment of polytheism today. In other words, certain essential (foundational) understandings are absent from the 21st century Western assumed culture experience, and must therefore be hashed out and engaged explicitly, or else the space that these understandings is meant to hold will become occupied by some other (unrelated, or even contrary) paradigm.

Different people come to this conversation for different reasons, from different backgrounds, and with different experiences, identities, proficiencies, and needs. The purpose of the Polytheist Movement is not to represent people (as this is not what movements generally do), but rather to represent the stated and identified needs of specific demographics of people for the purpose of need-fulfillment, advocacy, education, and resource-based support. Examples of support include (most obviously) the writings found across the polytheistic sectors of the internet – from personal blogs to professional articles and columns – and professional teaching, training, and mentorship, or outside experts consulting with or advising establish(ed/ing) polytheistic religious traditions, cults, and dedicant communities.

There are some distinct demographics to consider when reading, writing, thinking about, or talking about polytheistic religious practices, and it is important that these distinctions be kept somewhat in mind to avoid accidental erasure (as a writer or commenter) or overly personalizing one’s interpretation of a given contribution (as a reader) and responding with hostility when the item in question may not have been intended to speak to or provide for that given person’s needs. Some polytheisms are extant indigenous¹¹ world religions which have survived colonialism, genocide, and Monotheism’s cultural murder machine (missionary work) and need to be remembered and named, else they are assumed in writing to be gone and erased. Newcomers to “affirming with religious regard many real gods”¹² might hail from any number of avenues into polytheism. Some are part of a polytheistic group or tradition¹³ but don’t have an identity-and-paradigm level investment or experience with these religions, while others do not have a group but are defined primarily by these things at the identity and paradimic levels. Some converted¹⁴ into polytheisms, and others did not¹⁵, and so on: in all, these are all different in-roads with distinct backgrounds, baggage, or interpretative bias.

Some of these groups will have different needs from one another, for different reasons.¹⁶ Some might have needs in understanding polytheistic foundations because they are totally new, do not have a formal tradition, and need help. At this time, this is who the ongoing public polytheistic dialog is often seeking to support, not because everyone falls into this category, but because this is potentially the category with the highest need in figuring the foundations out. Some will not need these foundations to inform their practices, because their practices might come out of a structured tradition which provides them the instruction that they need; but these may still benefit from learning foundations in order to better understand other people and traditions to avoid conflicts by assuming that their way is the only/right way.

Realistically speaking some people will not want, or need, to engage this material at all. And that’s fine. And those people should find themselves somewhere else to engage, and stop interrupting the material and contributions probably intended for others. Not everything is intended for everyone; the assumption that everything should be tailored specifically to a one-size-fits-all interpretation is an assumption of gross entitlement.

Nevertheless, it is also important that we acknowledge that there may be an ever-expanding set of needs that, given the marginalized nature of our religions and religious identities, may need to be filled later (or are current needs not yet addressed or even visibly identified), so that as a movement we can continue to grow and to do better. Examples include continuing to develop international and interfaith discourse, such that the values or behavior/philosophy trends of one privileged or focal demographic do not get applied with a broad-stroke across the global discourse, such that others are by definition excluded and even alienated with hostility. We must serve to recognize intrinsic non-equational distinction and separateness between disciplines, such as “the pursuit of religious devotions” and “civic political engagement, economic theory, or social justice”, even though one may intersectionally inform or direct the other. This does not mean creating spaces which tolerate racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, or otherwise; rather that we must approach in good faith for the purposes of constructive building with a potentially exponential set of considerations, and an understanding that no one author, writer, reader, or teacher can account for the needs of everyone in the world who has polytheistic practices or identity.

There are no magic bullet solutions. Many gods, many people, many ways, many voices, many views, many ideas, many angles, many lenses of consideration, through which we can all together hope to find a future in this world for our traditions, for our religions, for our communities, for a thousand thousand years of Polytheists yet to come, that our gods – all of them, those named and unnamed, known and unknown, for they are countless – may be praised, remembered, honored, and hailed with voices raised together, or supported by peers and allies and collegial co-religionists the world over.

The content of Foundational Polytheism, being studies, writings, lectures, presentations, or informal pointers in a Q&A, are not “instructions” for a specific religion, cult, or tradition: they are the building blocks from which a person or group can assemble a structure of understanding the paradigms essential for elementary polytheistic theologies, ritual theory, devotional practice, spirit-work, and more.

Foundational Polytheism is elementary, education oriented, and amongst the primary contributions of the Polytheist Movement. It is not in contest with established traditions, although some established traditions may find it to be fundamentally essential, as many ritual or worship groups were founded without the benefit of such resources, having been previously formed-and-established without access to such understandings, teachings, and theological insights in the first place. There are a lot of modern and/or new polytheistic traditions which have no theological center, not because there isn’t a theology to their religions, but because there simply hasn’t been a large Western focus on polytheistic theology until relatively recently, more or less across the board (including in academia). When there is no center, or no ground underfoot, slipping and sliding and wild haymakers are what follow.

The Polytheist Movement is a way of describing a whole lot of different sorts of engagements and outreach and education, including discussions of Foundational Polytheism, and neither the Polytheist Movement nor Foundational Polytheism are “a religion”, nor seeking to decide who/what/why polytheistic religion and Polytheist identity are. They are seeking to create the spaces and contribute to the field of study of polytheistic religion, and the religious rights work necessary to see it protected, and prospering in this century of prejudice and continued erasure.

This is about listening, and about learning, and about providing freely for the purposes of polytheistic outreach, education, and support.

Foundational Polytheism is a good place to start, a methodology of approach, for those looking for a place to begin, and a good place to learn about elementary foundational understandings of theology, ritual craft and theory, practical concerns and community dynamics, interfaith discourse, for anyone who could benefit from these, as MANY existing polytheistic traditions in the US did not have the benefit of such a thing when they came about, and learning is never a thing that is “done”. Not everyone needs to engage, as not everyone has these needs: but those should kindly leave the programming respectfully in order to avoid rendering real and lasting harm to those who do, and whose stability-and-survival-of-self-and-religious-identity might very well depend on it.

Content Edits: July 20, 12:05 a.m.: “a methodology of approach and procedure,” was added to the central definition of “Foundational Polytheism”; “What they need, right there and then — some guidance and tips or protocols or starter-practices — which can be used immediately, adapted right out of the gate; a methodology for the beginnings of laying a polytheistic foundation.” was added in full as the closing sentence to paragraph 6. “a methodology of approach” was added to the first sentence of the concluding paragraph.